THe power of forgiveness

​According to Matthew and Mark’s account, at the beginning of the crucifixion of Jesus both thieves crucified with Him were mocking Jesus. Ultimately one of those thieves repented. All in the space of a couple hours he has a change in mind about Jesus. Now, here's the question I want to ask you.  What changed this thief's mind?  How did he go from insulting Jesus to believing in Jesus?  What happened that flipped the trigger in his mind?  The answer is found in a statement Jesus made.  When Jesus hangs on the cross He makes seven statements.  Statement number two will be His answer to the thief when He says, “Today you'll be with Me in paradise.”  There's only one other statement Jesus made prior that and it had to be that statement that got through to the thief.  What was that statement? It was when He prayed, “Father, forgive them for they know not what they do. “ And at that moment, the thief gets it.  The man hanging in the middle is my only hope. He is the only one who can save me.  And how does Jesus respond to the repentance of this thief?  He shows grace and He shows mercy…”Truly I say to you, today you will be with Me in paradise.” Forgiveness is a powerful thing!